assets

American  

[as-ets] / ˈæs ɛts /

plural noun

1. Finance. items or resources owned by a person, business, or government, as cash, notes and accounts receivable, securities, inventories, goodwill, fixtures, machinery, or real estate (opposed to liabilities).

   Infrastructure assets, such as telecommunications systems, are not as available or as reliable in developing countries.

   Depreciation applies only to tangible assets, which are the assets that exist in physical form, like vehicles, computers, etc.

2. Accounting. the items detailed on a balance sheet, especially in relation to liabilities and capital.

   The balance sheet lists assets and liabilities in order of liquidity; in other words, the assets most easily converted to cash are listed first.

3. Law. all property available for the payment of debts for a bankrupt or insolvent business or person, or the payment of legacies or debts for a deceased person.

   It is the job of the receiver to sell your assets and distribute the proceeds to your creditors.

4. Informal. parts of a person’s body seen as sexual or attractive, especially a woman’s breasts or buttocks.

   That slinky, shiny outfit really shows off her assets.

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assets British  

/ ˈæsɛts /

plural noun

1. accounting the property and claims against debtors that a business enterprise may apply to discharge its liabilities. Assets may be fixed, current, liquid, or intangible and are shown balanced against liabilities Compare liabilities

2. law the property available to an executor or administrator for settlement of the debts and payment of legacies of the estate of a deceased or insolvent person

3. any property owned by a person or firm

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Etymology

Origin of assets

First recorded in 1300–50, for a previous sense; in phrase have assets “have enough (to pay obligations)”; see asset ( def. )

Explanation

Your assets are things you have that are valuable. Money, property, and skills are all assets. When you talk about assets, you're talking about things that are good to have: they're worth something or they're useful. Money is certainly an asset. A house you own is an asset. If you're an employer, good employees are assets to the company. Personal qualities can be assets, too: if you're smart, brave, or even just good looking, consider it an asset.

Example Sentences

"It's for forever. Once the asset's been secured and upgraded, it can change its purpose, but it can't change its ownership."

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

Therefore, they assert, at least some of the gains reported by investors are due not to real advances in an asset’s value, but to inflation.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

BRI stands for bubble-risk indicator, which distills an asset’s returns, volatility, momentum and fragility into a single reading from 0 to 1, with 1 representing extreme bubblelike price action.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 10, 2026

Cost basis, an asset’s purchase price plus adjustments, is the starting point for measuring a taxable gain after a sale.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

The digital asset’s recovery past $78,000 lifts the value of the company’s Bitcoin holdings to $55.22 billion.

From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026